Crew Win Late To Beat Fire 4-3
Stoppage-time goal by Brais Méndez secures a seventh-place finish for Columbus, forcing a first-round trip to Inter Miami.
By Natalie Cooper ·
Brais Méndez scored in stoppage time to lift the Columbus Crew past the Chicago Fire 4-3 on Saturday. The victory on Decision Day allowed Columbus to avoid a wild-card playoff match. The Crew finished the regular season with a 14-15-5 record.
Columbus trailed three times during the contest before mounting a late rally. The win moved the Crew from ninth to seventh place in the Eastern Conference. That shift occurred after FC Cincinnati lost 2-0 to Nashville SC. Columbus will face the No. 2 seed Inter Miami in a best-of-three first-round series.
Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring for Chicago in the eighth minute. The 38-year-old striker converted a penalty kick following a foul on Sekou Bangoura. That goal marked the eighth of his first 19 appearances in Major League Soccer. Lewandowski added another penalty kick in the 22nd minute to restore the Fire's lead.
Gonzalo Tapia tied the game in the 16th minute. He benefited from assists by Taha Habroune and Santiago Rodríguez. Tapia recorded his fifth goal in his first 11 league matches. Anass Zaroury equalized for Columbus a minute after Lewandowski's second goal. Zaroury scored his third goal in his first eight starts without assistance.
Chicago led 3-2 at halftime. Maren Haile-Selassie scored unassisted in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time. Haile-Selassie finished the season with career highs of 13 goals and 10 assists. The Fire entered the match with a 16-11-7 record. They finished fourth in the East and earned home-field advantage against Charlotte FC.
Tapia scored the third goal for Columbus in the 62nd minute to tie the game at 3-all. Habroune provided the assist again. Defender Malte Amundsen also recorded an assist. Amundsen now has three assists in each of the last four seasons. Méndez finished his first regular season with six goals and four assists in 14 appearances.
Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte stopped three shots for Columbus. The Crew closed the regular season on a 6-0-1 unbeaten streak. Chris Brady made two saves for Chicago. The teams previously met in March and played to a scoreless draw in Ohio. Columbus travels to Inter Miami to begin their playoff series.
